Recently, a friend emailed me and asked me for a copy of this poem that has been circulating in wellness circles for years.  I think the poem makes an important statement about meaning and purpose.

The Healthiest Couple

By William Carlyon

They brush and they floss with care every day,
but not before breakfast of both curds and whey.

He jogs for his heart and she bikes for her nerves;
they assess themselves daily with appropriate verve.

He is loving and tender and caring and kind,

not one chauvinist thought is allowed in his mind.

They are slim and attractive well-dressed and just fun.
They are strong and well-immunized against everything under the sun.

They are sparkling and lively and having a ball.
Their diet? High fiber and low cholesterol.

Cocktails are avoided in favor of juice;
cigarettes are shunned as one would the noose.

They drive their car safely with belts well in place; 

at home not one hazard ever will they face.

1.2 children they raise, both sharing the job.
One is named Betty, .2 is named Bob.

And when at the ages of two hundred and three,
they jog from this life into one more free,

They'll pass through those portals to claim their reward
and St. Peter will stop them "just for a word.'

"What Ho," he will say, "You can not go in.
This place is reserved for those without sin."

"But we've followed the rules," she'll say with a fright.
"We're healthy - near perfect - and incredibly bright."

"But that's it," will say Peter, drawing himself tall.
You've missed the point of living by thinking so small."

'Life is more than health habits, though useful they be,
it is purpose and meaning, the grand mystery."

'You've discovered a part of what makes humans whole
and mistaken that part for the shape of the soul."

"You are fitter than fiddles and sound as a bell,
self-righteous, intolerant and boring as hell."